Each night I cry watching the news. The sight of the poor, lost, bewildered pets left behind when the U.S. Gulf Coast evacuated is just heartbreaking. I wonder (and seriously doubt) if most of these pets will be reunited with their families.
Some of you might remember that when we lost Kuhio, we learned about microchipping. We had never heard of this technology before. Kuhio might still be with us if she had been microchipped.
I'm urging all of you to talk to your vets about microchipping. If you're ever separated due to fire, flood, hurricane, tornado, earthquake or just a door or window accidently left open your chance of recovering your pet are greatly increased if they are microchipped.
There are a couple of brands on the market and as I understand it, there does not exist a "universal" scanner. (One website I saw claimed that they had developed one, but my vet advises that it doesn't exist). So, talk to your vet to see what chips they scan for. Call your local shelters and find out if they have scanners for both Avid and Home Again chips. These are the most widely used in the US. There may be other brands more commonly used in Canada and Australia and Europe.
After Katrina hit, Bobcat and I brainstormed what we would do in an emergency. Since we're in Alaska, most likely it would be an earthquake or a house fire. We made a copy of our microchip documentation and gave it to my sister. It is also registered with our vet and on several websites. That way, if our home is destroyed and our pets are missing, we can retrieve that information and increase the chances that we will all be reunited.
Please ask your vet about it. When Kuhio died, the "woulda, coulda, shoulda's" just about destroyed us.
Lisa
Avid
Home Again
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